In Africa's most significant unregulated housing area, a Bitcoin-based economic structure emerges.
In the heart of Nairobi, Kenya, just six and a half kilometers from the city center, sits the massive informal settlement of Kibera. Home to over half a million residents, this bustling community has been host to a unique Bitcoin project for the past half decade: Afribit.
Director of the Afribit project, Ronnie Mdawida, explained that the majority of Kibera's residents struggle to participate in Kenya's traditional financial system due to various barriers. Technologies like M-Pesa, while widely utilized, are hampered by high transaction costs and vulnerability to issues like fund reversals.
Mdawida's eyes were opened to Bitcoin's potential in 2019, when his long-time supporter Yogi Golle, who now serves as Afribit's Strategic Advisor, showed him the benefits of the digital currency. Golle's introduction led to the incorporation of Bitcoin into Kibera's educational programs, beginning the circle of growth that now defines Afribit.
Bitcoin circular economy called
At its core, Afribit is a tool that empowers Kibera's merchants, many of whom lack proper documentation and would be excluded from the traditional financial ecosystem. By embracing Bitcoin, these merchants are given an alternative that provides them the ability to build their lives without the hurdles of traditional banking systems.
Afribit has been growing for the past half decade.
Afribit's Programs and Successes
community development work in Kenya for over 15 years, first learned about Bitcoin in 2019 when Yogi Golle, a Canadian citizen still living in Canada who has been donating to Mdawida’s initiatives since 2017 and who now serves as the Strategic Advisor to Afribit, taught him about its benefits.
The Afribit project began as an e-commerce platform, allowing residents to sell their goods online in exchange for Bitcoin. Although timing wasn't ideal back then, the team remains committed to expanding that aspect of the project.
Now, Afribit offers Bitcoin education, as well as coding classes that have led students to find meaningful jobs within the community, such as working as full-stack developers. One student is even working on designing a Lightning Network wallet tailored to the needs of the Afribit community.
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Afribit also manages the waste management program, which pays participants for collecting and recycling waste and attending Bitcoin education sessions. This combination of employment and Bitcoin education helps teach community members about the digital currency, promoting its widespread adoption.
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Challenges
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While Afribit has seen significant success, it faces its share of challenges: maintaining Bitcoin liquidity and overcoming staunch skepticism of the digital currency, especially in the wake of its price volatility.
sats (fractions of a bitcoin), the majority either don’t have or don’t use banking services.
Fortunately, the project continues to persevere, with over 40 merchants now actively utilizing Bitcoin to make transactions and save money. Some merchants have even started viewing Bitcoin as a financial planning tool for their families.
M-Pesa are widely used, their high transaction costs and vulnerability to practices such as fund reversals make them less favorable for business transactions,” she added.
The Future of Afribit
Lightning Network wallet that will cater to the needs of the Afribit community.
As the Afribit team looks to the future, they have ambitious plans. These include implementing a financing project to offer merchants Bitcoin loans, establishing a customer loyalty program to boost Bitcoin adoption, and creating a peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange to onboard new users to the digital currency.
By successfully fostering these new initiatives, Afribit has the potential to evolve into a model for financial inclusion and empowerment not only within Kibera but across East Africa. Through strategic partnerships, scalable initiatives, and the resilience of the Kibera community, Afribit is poised to become a beacon for financial access in the region, thanks in part to the transformative power of Bitcoin.[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankcorva/2025/01/01/bitcoin-circular-economies-take-root-in-suriname/[2] https://afribit.africa/#aboutus[3] https://www.theronniefund.org/
peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange that will help to onboard new users to Bitcoin.
- Utilizing the newly developed Lightning Network wallet, merchants in Kibera can now conduct transactions more efficiently, overcoming the limitations of M-Pesa and traditional banking systems.
- The newsletter_signup_article on Afribit's website informs potential supporters that they can contribute to the project and help expand its reach by signing up for updates and news.
- Afribit's innovative preloadresourcesendpoint enables developers to effortlessly integrate Bitcoin functionality into their applications, propelling the digital currency's adoption within the African continent.
